Dan Rather on Federal Aid to Florida: ‘Airplanes Will Be Full of Supplies, Not Stunts’

Disgraced former CBS reporter Dan Rather added to the politicization of Hurricane Ian hitting Florida by referencing Gov. Ron DeSantis shipping migrants up to Martha’s Vineyard.

This month, leftists and their media allies went crazy over Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis sending a plane of 50 migrants up to the wealthy liberal enclave of Martha’s Vineyard, accusing him of using human beings as pawns to pull off a “political stunt.” As the dangerous Hurricane Ian approached Florida’s shores, Rather used the moment to grandstand about the federal government’s virtue in contrast to the “stunt” that DeSantis pulled.

“When the hurricane hits Florida, federal aid will flow into help — paid for by tax dollars from Americans across the country. Airplanes will be full of supplies, not stunts,” he tweeted. “There will be no ‘us’ and ‘them.’ Because this is how America should act, and most Americans know it.”

Followers of Dan Rather agreed and even took the rhetoric a step further, suggesting that Florida should receive no federal aid whatsoever.

“Unpopular opinion: Maybe it shouldn’t. Maybe Florida needs to pull itself up by its bootstraps. Maybe Florida should stop asking for handouts. Maybe Florida should just stop being in places where it’s exposed to such weather… Or, maybe Florida could stop electing DeSantis,” responded one user.

“And those tax dollars come from everyone in the US. And we don’t sit there and say ‘Why should a tax payer in CA pay for someone in FL?’ Yet many in FL said that about helping people with college debt,” said another.

Rather’s politicization of the storm follows an article from Politico, which seemed almost gleeful about the possible damage Hurricane Ian could inflict on Ron DeSantis’s political ambitions.

“The hurricane is on track to make landfall in the state just six weeks ahead of the November elections and, depending on how well the governor responds to the potentially catastrophic storm, DeSantis may emerge more popular or open himself up to criticism,” wrote Matt Dixon.